Back in June, UFC president Dana White said that all future UFC non-title headliners – whether on pay-per-view or cable TV – would be scheduled as five-round fights rather than the typical three.

However, due to previously signed contracts and a variety of fight-card changes, no such bouts have materialized. But White today confirmed via Twitter that the Nov. 5 Munoz vs. Leben fight, which airs on Spike TV (same-day delay) from LG Arena in Birmingham, England, will be the organization’s first.

The fight, of course, could have title complications. While a UFC 136 bout between Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann is likely to earn the winner a shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva (or Yushin Okami, who challenges the champ at UFC 134), Munoz and Leben can’t be far behind. Both contenders are 4-1 over their past five fights and have posted high-profile wins (over Demian Maia and Wanderlei Silva, respectively) in recent bouts.

White believes the extra two rounds could make for more compelling matchups if a championship belt isn’t up for grabs.

In a recent MMAjunkie.com poll, 75 percent of voters believe White made the right move with the change. However, in an “Ask the Fight Doc” column, MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin cautioned about some of the potential pitfalls of the extended fights.

The Latest

Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums and, perhaps most importantly, social-media platforms.

In this week’s Trading Shots, Danny Downes and Ben Fowlkes look at Ronda Rousey’s 34-second victory over Bethe Correia at UFC 190 and try to put it into terms that capture the moment without getting swept away by it.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?